New Cities Summit Unveils Speakers and Schedule for Global Gathering of City Builders in Johannesburg

Waterfall City

The 2026 New Cities Summit

Networking at the 2025 Nairobi Summit

David Pilling, Willie Vos, Lant Pritchett and 35 more speakers confirmed as developers, investors and governments meet at Waterfall City, Dec. 7-8, 2026

JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Charter Cities Institute and Waterfall City Management Company have announced the speakers, programme and partners for the 2026 New Cities Summit, to be held Dec. 7-8 at Waterfall City in Johannesburg. More than 600 city developers, investors, government leaders and infrastructure providers are expected to attend the Summit’s third edition.

Mark Lutter, founder and executive director of the Charter Cities Institute, spoke to the opportunity for the continent: “Africa's cities will add hundreds of millions of people in the coming decades, and the projects that house them need capital, infrastructure and good governance at the same time. This Summit puts the people who control each of those in one room, inside a city that is being built right now.”

The Summit is built to move investable city projects from planning to execution. The format prioritises deal flow, working sessions and curated networking, with on-site experiences inside Waterfall City. Sessions will explore the Summit’s theme, “Innovating the Business of Building Cities: Capital. Infrastructure. Governance.”

Programme Highlights

The programme opens with introductory speeches and will also see Martin Rama, former World Bank chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, give a global overview of new cities, and Mark Beer, co-founder of Seven Pillars Law, speak on building the legal infrastructure new cities need. In a Financial Times fireside chat, David Pilling, the paper’s Africa editor, will interview Siaka Stevens, co-founder and CEO of Sherbro Island City in Sierra Leone. Kurtis Lockhart of Africa Urban Lab will lead a discussion of the World Bank's 2026 Cities and Urbanization Report, and Lant Pritchett, visiting professor of practice at the London School of Economics, will argue that "only economic growth is enough."

Tuesday’s programme will open with Joe Studwell, journalist and author of “How Africa Works,” arguing that Africa works only if its cities work. Bolot Ibragimov, deputy speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, will have a plenary session on Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia’s new cities, followed by keynote Magatte Wade, director of the Center for African Prosperity at Atlas Network, who will be returning for her third year to talk about the future of the new cities movement.

Breakout sessions will cover the mobilisation of philanthropic funding for economic growth, Africa's industrialisation, digital economic zones, Egypt’s Ras El Hekma, Rendeavour as a new city developer, free international cities, entrepreneurship, urban expansion and Africa’s urban future, alpha cities, autonomous cities, planning for growth, and affordable housing. Panels will examine philanthropic funding, the planning required to make a city work, including finance and tenant attraction, and will bring together new city CEOs to share lessons learned. David Ansara, CEO of the Free Market Foundation, will also host a panel on fixing South Africa’s cities.

The Summit closes on 8 December with announcements and signing ceremonies, and the programme includes the world premiere of the new film, “Building Opportunity” on 7 December. The full schedule is available at newcitiessummit.org/schedule.

Cities Investment Forum

Running alongside the main programme is the Cities Investment Forum, hosted with Mineral Springs, an advisory firm that has mobilised more than $10 billion for infrastructure. Vetted city projects deliver 20-minute pitches to investors whose mandates fit them, followed by investor feedback and invitation-only deal networking aimed at moving toward term sheets. Past participants include Kigali Innovation City, Fumba Town and Sherbro Island City. Developers can submit proposals at newcitiessummit.org/cif.

Partners and Registration

Gold partners include The World Bank Group, Attacq, Mineral Springs, the Cities Investment Forum, and Stadio. Silver partners include Johannesburg Tourism, the Africa Urban Lab, GGDA, and the University of Johannesburg's Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. The Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the official business partner. Emirates is the official airline partner and Business Skies the official travel partner. Registration is now open at newcitiessummit.org/tickets, with passes from $79 to $1,195. A limited number of partnership opportunities remain; contact Michael Holstein (michael@cci.city) to learn more.

For more information, please contact:

Michele Anderson, Ubuntu One, michele.anderson@ubuntu-one.com / Anastazija.pomelov@ubuntu-one.com; Michael Holstein, Charter Cities Institute, michael@cci.city; Anneli Marais, anneli@waterfall.co.za

About the Charter Cities Institute

The Charter Cities Institute builds the ecosystem for new city development. Founded on the belief that innovative governance models are needed to address humanity's most pressing challenges, including poverty, climate change and rapid urbanisation, CCI collaborates with governments, developers, investors and organisations incubating projects worldwide. Through policy research, technical assistance, events, media and strategic partnerships, CCI raises awareness, lays the institutional groundwork, convenes key stakeholders and accelerates the development of charter cities designed to expand opportunity and improve quality of life at scale. Learn more at chartercitiesinstitute.org.

About Waterfall City

At 2,200 hectares, Waterfall City is the largest mixed-use development in Africa and the largest property development in South African history. It will ultimately combine more than 28,000 residential units housing an estimated 80,000 people with approximately 2.5 million square metres of gross leasable area for commercial, retail and office space, accommodating a further 95,000 people. Located in Gauteng, South Africa's economic hub, Waterfall City is a greenfield development built from a blank slate using the latest urban design principles. Find out more at waterfallcity.co.za.

Michael Holstein
Charter Cities Institute
michael@cci.city
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2026 New Cities Summit